The current infrastructure challenges facing the semiconductor supply chain in Japan may have caused concern at TSMC, that its capacity expansion plans this year could be impacted by delays in equipment deliveries, but this hasn’t stopped the foundry from placing new orders this week with Dainippon Screen and Tokyo Electron (TEL) and DISCO.

DISCO, known for its wafer dicing products also received orders worth approximately US$18.2 million. DISCO also noted this week that none of its manufacturing operations had been affected by the disaster in Japan and had continued to ship products without disruption. The company also noted that it had 6-months of raw material supplies.

U.S.-based equipment suppliers were also in the order mix this week. Novellus Systems also received a batch of equipment orders valued at approximately US$23 million.

Applied Materials received one of the largest series of orders totalling approximately US$46.2 million.

One U.S.-based supplier that hadn’t featured much in orders from TSMC so far this year was KLA-Tencor. That changed this week with orders received totalling approximately US$25.3 million. TSMC previously placed orders worth US$19.2 million with the metrology specialist in early January, 2011.

However, perhaps the most interesting orders placed by TSMC over the last two weeks was with Advanced Ion Beam Technology, Inc. (AIBT) a low-profile manufacture of ion implant systems based in the U.S. TSMC placed an order worth US$17.3 with AIBT.

As previously reported, a series of orders worth approximately US$80.2 million have been placed with lithography equipment supplier, ASML.